Fuel Prices Down in National Capital Again – A Hat-trick

Third time in a row, the fuel prices have again seen a dip in the Delhi region. According to the fortnight revision in the prices of fuel, the revised rates are – Rs. 61.09/litre for petrol and Rs. 52.27/litre for diesel, where petrol and diesel have seen a dip of Rs. 1.42/litre and Rs. 2.10/litre, respectively. These prices will come into effect from today, that is, August 1, 2016. Earlier the prices were Rs. 62.51 and Rs. 54.28 for petrol and diesel, respectively, which were revised on July 16, 2016 with a reduction of Rs. 2.25/litre in petrol and Rs. 0.42/litre in diesel.

The first dip was noticed in the first week of July 2016 followed by a second dip in the mid and the third one by the end of the month. On the other hand, the months of May and June brought with them 4 successive hikes in the fuel prices, while April witnessed the mixture of both. The decrease in fuel prices is not limited to the national capital as major cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Jaipur too have seen a price cut. Here is the chart:

Source:https://www.cardekho.com/

The Indian Oil Corporation Limited issued a statement, which says, "The current level of international product prices of Petrol & Diesel and INR-USD exchange rate warrant decrease in the price of Petrol and increase in the price of Diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision. The movement of prices in the international oil market and INR-USD exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes."

Where the nation is on the verge of hitting inflation, we can expect further dips in the prices of fuels. But the situation in the Mayanagri (Mumbai) is about to get tensed as the petrol pumps in the city might run out of fuel shortly in a protest against new directive of the state, which states – 'No Helmet, No Petrol' – which is supposed to get implemented from the 16th of August, 2016. As per the reports from the trusted sources, the petrol pump owners in Mumbai are planning to stop purchasing fuel from the 1st of August, 2016, to protest against the to-be-law.

Source:https://www.icebike.org/

Ravi Shinde, Petrol Dealers' Association, said, "We will empty whatever stocks are at the pumps till July 31, after which there could be a shortage of fuel supply at the pumps." In case the protest carry on for a longer duration can affect 223 petrol pumps of the metropolitan city, which will go dry. According to the work-to-rule protest, the dealers earlier decided to open the petrol pumps from 9am to 6pm w.e.f. August 1, 2016, but after a closed meeting on the last Wednesday, the association has changed its mind and is now preparing to take an aggressive stand by suspending the purchase of fuel at the pumps. However, there is still a ray of hope, as Shinde further said, "In case, the government accepts our demands, we may not resort to this extreme step."

This extreme step was taken by the state government in order to bring an impressive down in the number of road accidents. The Petrol Dealers' Association is of the opinion that the police are not doing their job and, in turn, are delegating the petrol pump attendants to help them (police) out. The Association is also planning to lodge a case in Bombay high court, which can further delay the imposition of the directive in the city. In case the directive gets imposed, the rule offenders will have to face strict fines.